Apparatus for treating articles with liquid treatment media

ABSTRACT

A drum of polygonal cross-section has a hollow spindle secured to each side thereof. The spindles support the drum for rotation thereof about the axes of the spindles and provide means for loading and unloading workpieces to and from the drum. The drum is provided with perforations so that, when it dips into a treatment medium in a tank, workpieces within the drum are exposed to the medium. The drum is oscillated during treatment of the workpieces and is rotated through 360* to effect discharge of the workpieces.

United States Patent Corbett 1*Sept. 26, 1972 [54] APPARATUS FORTREATING ARTICLES WITH LIQUID TREATMENT MEDIA [72] Inventor: Sydney C,Corbett, Birmingham,

England [73] Assignee: The Hockley Chemical Company Limited, Birmingham,England Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent toDec. 2, 1986, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Oct. 27, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 869,805

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.705,212, Feb.

13, 1968, Pat. No. 3,481,347.

[52] US. Cl. ..134/69, 51/164, 134/159 [51] Int. Cl. ..B08b 3/06 [58]Field of Search ..134/69, 159; 51/164 [56] References. Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,116,578 1/1964 Bottler ..51/164 X 3,481,347 12/ 1969 ICorbett 1 34/69 Primary Examiner-Robert L. Bleutge Attorney-Kurt Kelman[5 7] ABSTRACT A drum of polygonal cross-section has a hollow spindlesecured to each side thereof. The spindles support the drum for rotationthereof about the axes of the spindles and provide means for loading andunloading workpieces to and from the drum. The drum is provided withperforations so that, when it dips into a treatment medium in a tank,workpieces within the drum are exposed to the medium. The drum isoscillated during treatment of the workpieces and is rotated through 360to effect discharge of the workpieces.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEU SEP 2 6 I972 SHEET b UF 5 Thisapplication is a continuation in part of co-pending application Ser. No.705,212, now US. Pat. No. 3,481,347 filed Feb. 13,1968.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to treatment apparatus for carrying out various treatmentoperations such as, for example, cleaning, rinsing, bright dipping,chromating, phosphating, chemical blacking, pickling, descaling, dryingand cooling on workpieces. The apparatus is of the kind including aplurality of drums or like vessels adapted to have workpieces fedthereinto and to have workpieces discharged therefrom, each vessel beingsupported at its treatment station by a frame in such a positionrelative to a tank in which the selected treatment medium is disposedand the construction of the drum being such that the workpiecescontained therein are exposed to the medium.

2. Description of the Prior Art One form of treatment apparatus of theabove kind has included a tippable basket at each treatment station andmeans have been provided whereby, on completion of a treatment operationat a station, the basket has been tipped to transfer the workpieces intoa succeeding basket or to transfer the workpieces to a dischargestation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form oftreatment apparatus of the above kind.

In co-pending application Ser. No. 705,212 referred to above, there isdescribed a liquid treatment apparatus including an elongate frame, aplurality of aligned workpiece treatment vessels supported from saidframe, each of said vessels being of drum-like form, with a perforatecircumferential wall supported between two side walls, each side wallbeing formed with a central aperture and each side wall having securedthereto in register with the aperture therein a hollow spindle adapted,on the one hand, to receive workpieces from a preceding station and tofeed them into the vessel and, on the other hand, to receive workpiecesfrom the vessel and discharge them therefrom. Means are disposed withineach vessel for effecting agitation of the workpieces contained thereinin response to limited angular movement of such vessel and for effectingdischarge of such workpieces therefrom in response to complete rotationof said vessel, said apparatus further including means for supportingthe treatment liquid in operative relation to said vessels and means foreffecting limited angular movement of said vessels and for effectingcomplete rotation thereof.

In the particular embodiment described in co-pending application Ser.No. 705,212 each vessel is of generally cylindrical form and the meansdisposed within each vessel for effecting agitation of the-workpiececomprises a plurality of internal baffles.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide amodification of the treatment apparatus described in co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 705,212 in which the construction of each vesselcan be more economically performed and in which each vessel is so shapedthat, on oscillation thereof, agitation of the workpieces is effected asa result of the shaping of the vessel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus disclosed in co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 705,212 is modified by forming each treatmentvessel of polygonal cross-section, each side wall of each vessel beingin the form of a regular polygon and the circumferential wall of eachvessel comprising a plurality of relatively inclined wall members.

By providing each vessel with side walls which are of regular polygonalform, the cutting of said side walls from metal sheet is considerablyfacilitated since the sheet can be sheared to the required polygonalconfiguration, the connection of the circumferential wall to the sidewalls is facilitated and the shaping of the vessel is such as to effectagitation of the workpieces on oscillation of the vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a view in side elevation,partly broken away, of a complete treatment unit,

FIG. 2 is an end view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the treatmentvessels of the unit,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a pair of treatment vessels of the unit,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the supporting means for the vesselsand FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing means whereby the tanks forcontaining the treatment medium can be removed from the unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The treatment unit shown in FIG.1 includes seven treatment drums or vessels and can be used, forexample, for carrying out a multistage pickling process. The first stage10 is a cleaning stage, the next 11 is a rinsing stage which is followedby two pickling stages 12 and 13, and then one cold rinse stage 14 and ahot rinse stage 15. The treatment unit includes a generally rectangularframe 16 which is built up from angle or box section material and theframe provides support for the seven treatment drums 17, support for thedrive means of the drums 17 and for a hood 18 which extends over theapparatus or unit. At each of the treatment stages or stations 10, 11,12, 13, 14 and 15, there is supported from the frame 16 a tank 19 inwhich the appropriate treatment solution is contained, the tanks 19being in register with the treatment drums or vessels 17. Thearrangement is such that the lower portion of each drum or vessel dipsinto the solution contained in the corresponding tank 19. Each tank 19is provided with pipe and valve work indicated generally at 20 wherebythe solution in each tank can be recirculated, passed to waste or passedfor regeneration as may be desired.

Each drum 17, with the exception of the two drums at the first station10, is connected to the preceding and succeeding drums by means of ahollow spindle 21, there being a loading chute or hopper 22 at the inletend of the apparatus and a discharge chute 23 at the other or dischargeend of the apparatus. Some or all of the spindles 21 are providedexternally with a groove or track 24 which is adapted to locate on apair of supporting rollers 25, one roller of each pair being itselfsupported from each side of the frame of the apparatus, as willpresently be described, and means are provided for adjusting theposition of the rollers 25 so as to enable axial alignment of the drumsto be achieved and maintained.

During the course of treatment it is necessary for the drums 17 to beboth oscillated and rotated and, to this end, between stations and 11and between stations 14 and 15, the hollow spindles 21 each have securedthereto a sprocket wheel 26. Each sprocket wheel 26 is adapted toreceive a driving chain driven by driving sprockets 27 secured on adriving shaft 28 which extends along one side of the apparatus and whichis driven by a hydraulic motor, operation of which is controlled by anelectric timing unit mounted in a control cabinet 29 which has a controlpanel 29a.

The hood 18 includes a number of transparent panels 30 provided withhandles 31 so that not only can operation of the apparatus be seenthrough the hood but an individual panel can readily be removed if it isdesired to carry out adjustments to the apparatus. Associated with thehood 18 is a vent 32 adapted to be connected to a suitable extractor orto a flue whereby fumes, steam or other gaseous media can be withdrawn.

The purpose of providing two drums 17 mounted in direct side-by-siderelationship at the cleaning station 10 is to enable the workpieces tobe subjected to the cleaning medium in the tank at station 10 for twicethe length of time that they are subjected to any of the successivetreatment media.

As will be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, each drum includes a pair ofoctagonal side walls 33 each of which is provided with a central opening34 in register with which is secured the associated hollow spindle 21 sothat there is an axial through passage throughout the whole of theapparatus. Secured between the side walls 33 of each drum is acircumferential wall 35 which is made up from eight generallyrectangular metal plates welded to each other and to the side walls 33.As shown in FIG. 1, each part of the circumferential wall 35 is ofperforate form so as to enable the treatment media to enter that part ofthe drum 17 which dips into the liquid in the corresponding tank. FIG. 2of the drawings shows a drum 17 in the position relative to which itoscillates during the major part of the treatment process. In that partof the drum which is uppermost during the major part of the treatmentcycle there is a pick-up plate 36 shown in a vertical position and arelatively inclined scavenger plate 37. Associated with the pick-upplate 36 and the scavenger plate 37 is a downwardly inclined dischargeplate 38, the plate 38 being in register with an inclined feed plate 39mounted in the spindle 21 on the discharge or outlet side of the drum17. A similar feed plate 39 is mounted in the spindle 21 on the feed orinput side of the drum 17 and this will, of course, be in register withthe inclined plate 38 of the preceding drum. A breaker plate 39a ispositioned within each drum in register with the feed plate 39 so thatarticles fed into the drum from the preceding feed plate 39 fall ontothe breaker plate 390.

Basic operation of the apparatus is thus as follows. With the selectedload of workpieces in a drum these will, of course, be resting in thelower portion thereof and will thus be in the treatment media. Each drumis oscillated through a pre-selected are which can be up to as much as150 on either side of the position shown in FIG. 2. Normally, however,the drum will be oscillated up to 90 on either side of the positionshown in FIG 2. During this period of oscillation the workpieces will betumbled in the treatment media due not only to the oscillation of thedrum but due to the agitating or tumbling effect obtained when theworkpieces are caused to move from a position supported on one part ofthe circumferential side wall 35 to the adjacent relatively inclinedpart of said side wall. At the end of the predetermined treatment periodthe drum is caused to rotate through a complete revolution in thedirection indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2 and, during the course ofsuch rotation, the plates 36 and 37 will move into a lower position and,as they pass through such lower position, the plate 36 will pick up theworkpieces and convey them upwardly whilst they are supported upon theplate until the drum approaches its previous vertical position. As theplate 36 approaches its vertical position the workpieces thereon, willfall by gravity onto the inclined plate 38 and will thus be dischargedfrom the drum onto the inclined feed plate of the outlet spindle fromwhich they will pass into the next succeeding drum or, in the case ofthe final treatment station, to the discharge chute 23. In order toensure that all workpieces are discharged from each treatment station,rotation of the drum can be reversed for a short angular distance afterthe plate 36 has reached a vertical position and thereafter restored tothe vertical position so as, in effect, to jerk free any workpieces thatmay have become lodged on the plate 36.

The scavenger plate 37 directs fluid drained through the pick-up plate36, whilst moving upwards to the discharge position, outside the barrel.This ensures that the fluid drained through the pick-up plate 36 doesnot fall back into the barrel thus ensuring that the fluid contained inthe barrel is relatively clean.

With all of the treatment drums secured together this oscillatorymovement followed by rotational movement applies, of course, throughoutthe apparatus so that one achieves a successive through-put ofworkpieces from one stage to another.

In the form of the invention illustrated, the drums are made ofstainless steel and with each drum having a dimension measured betweenopposed flat faces thereof of the order of 3 feet, each drum can carry aload of more than pounds of workpieces so that, with a cycle time of 30seconds at each treatment station a throughput of some 2 to 3 tons ofworkpieces per hour can be achieved.

The loading hopper or chute 22 can be hinged adjacent its lower end tothe frame 16 and is provided with spring or like support means wherebythere can be obtained some visual or other indication that a given workload has been placed in the loading chute 22 so that an operator willknow that a full work load is ready for loading into the machine.

Alternatively the loading chute can be arranged to be raised and loweredby coupling it to the hydraulic mechanism of the apparatus so that itcan be moved between a work receiving position in which it is filledwith workpieces and a work feeding position in which it feeds workpiecesinto the first drum at station in timed relationship to the operation ofthe apparatus as a whole.

As pointed out above, the driving sprockets 27 are mounted on a maindriving shaft 28 which is driven by an electric motor controlled througha suitable hydraulic circuit from the electric timer or control unithoused in the control cabinet 29. The control unit consists basically ofa cam whose movements both by way of oscillation and by way of rotationcorrespond to the desired movements of the drums, the cam operatingduring the course of its angular movements four microswitches which areangularly spaced around the path of travel of the cam, these switchescontrolling the sequential operation of the hydraulic motor and theposition of at least two of these switches being adjustable so as toenable one to select the degree of are through which oscillation of thedrums shall take place. As the construction of the control unit forms,however, no part of the present invention, the construction thereof isnot shown in the accompanying drawings but it is considered that theoperation thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thebrief description given above.

In order to facilitate axial alignment of the drums and to provide meansfor adjustment to compensate for wear on the rollers 25 and tofacilitate replacement of the rollers, each drum-supporting roller 25 ismounted, as shown in FIG. 4, for rotation upon a spindle 41 either isprovided with squared ends 42 which seat in square slots in the sidewalls 43 of a roller-carrying block 44 which is mounted on one end of ashaft 45 which passes through a member of the frame 16 and which is inthreaded engagement with a collar 46 adjustable by means of a screw 47.The free end of the screw 47 is provided with suitable flats forengagement by a spanner or like means whereby it can be rotated. Byrotating the screw 47, the housing 43 and the roller 25 carried therebycan be moved either towards or away from the longitudinal center line ofthe apparatus so that, if both rollers 25 of a pair-are adjustedinwardly, they will raise the associated drum spindle 24 or if they aremoved away from one another, the associated drum spindle 24 will belowered. Accurate alignment of all the drums can thus be achieved.

By withdrawing one roller 25 and its supporting housing 23 from contactwith the associated drum spindle, the roller can readily be replaced byjust lifting it out of its housing 43 and putting a fresh one inposition.

If wear takes place on a roller, the wear can be compensated for and theaxial alignment of the drum spindle restored by moving the roller 25inwardly towards the center line of the machine.

To facilitate removal of the tanks 19 containing the treatment media,each tank 19 is provided, as shown in FIG. 5, with an apertured lug 48which is adapted to receive the lower end of a rod 49 the upper end 50of which is screw-threaded. An internally threaded rotatable collar 51is mounted on the upper end portion 50 of the rod 49 and is associatedwith a block 52 which includes a hook formation 53 whereby it can bemounted over a part of the frame 16. The tanks 19 rest on supportingbrackets (not shown) which are readily detachable from the frame 16 sothat, when it is desired to remove a tank 19 for maintenance purposes orfor cleaning, a rod 49 and its associated components is engaged with thelug 48 at one side of the tank 19 and another rod 49 and its associatedcomponents is engaged with the lug 48 at the other side of the tank 19.The blocks 52 are then located on the frame 16 and the threaded nuts 51rotated to raise the tank 19 clear of its supporting brackets. With thetank thus clear of the supporting brackets and suspended by the rods 49,the brackets can be removed and the nuts 51 can then be rotated in theopposite direction and the tank 19 lowered onto the floor or othersupporting surface and then withdrawn laterally from under theapparatus.

Although, in the form of apparatus described above, the treatment drums19 are formed of steel, these could well be formed of a suitableplastics material and drums formed of polypropylene would be ofadvantage for carrying out electroplating operations. Alternatively thedrums may be fonned of steel with a plastic coating applied thereto.

What I claim then is:

1. Liquid treatment apparatus including 1. an elongate frame;

2. a plurality of aligned workpiece treatment vessels supported fromsaid frame, each vessel being of drum-like form with a perforatecircumferential wall supported between two side walls,

a. each side wall being of polygonal form and having a central aperture,

b. the circumferential wall including a plurality of relatively inclinedwall members;

3. each side wall having secured thereto, in register with the aperturetherein, a hollow spindle adapted, on the one hand, to receiveworkpieces from a preceding station and to feed them into the vesseland, on the other hand, to receive workpieces from the vessel anddischarge the same therefrom;

4. means for supporting liquid treatment media for the workpieces inoperative relation to said vessels;

5. drive means arranged to effect limited oscillatory angular movementsof said vessels and to effect complete rotation of the vessels,

c. the shaping of the circumferential wall of each drum serving toensure agitation of the workpieces within the vessels upon oscillationthereof; and

6. means within each vessel whereby, on complete rotation thereof, theworkpieces therein are directed into a respective one of the spindlesfor discharge from the vessel.

2. Treatment apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means foreffecting discharge of the workpieces in response to complete rotationof the vessels includes, in each vessel, a pick-up plate disposed withinthe vessel and extending between the side walls thereof into abuttingrelationship with the circumferential wall of the vessel, a dischargeplate being mounted in operative relationship with the pick-up plate toguide the workpieces towards the appropriate hollow spindle, a scavengerplate being located, relative to the direction of rotation of thevessel, rearwardly to the pick-up plate.

3. Treatment apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each vessel is ofoctagonal cross-section.

1. Liquid treatment apparatus including
 1. an elongate frame;
 2. aplurality of aligned workpiece treatment vessels supported from saidframe, each vessel being of drum-like form with a perforatecircumferential wall supported between two side walls, a. each side wallbeing of polygonal form and having a central aperture, b. thecircumferential wall including a plurality of relatively inclined wallmembers;
 3. each side wall having secured thereto, in register with theaperture therein, a hollow spindle adapted, on the one hand, to receiveworkpieces from a preceding station and to feed them into the vesseland, on the other hand, to receive workpieces from the vessel anddischarge the same therefrom;
 4. means for supporting liquid treatmentmedia for the workpieces in operative relation to said vessels;
 5. drivemeans arranged to effect limited oscillatory angular movements of saidvessels and to effect complete rotation of the vessels, c. the shapingof the circumferential wall of each drum serving to ensure agitation ofthe workpieces within the vessels upon oscillation thereof; and
 6. meanswithin each vessel whereby, on complete rotation thereof, the workpiecestherein are directed into a respective one of the spindles for dischargefrom the vessel.
 2. a plurality of aligned workpiece treatment vesselssupported from said frame, each vessel being of drum-like form with aperforate circumferential wall supported between two side walls, a. eachside wall being of polygonal form and having a central aperture, b. thecircumferential wall including a plurality of relatively inclined wallmembers;
 2. Treatment apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the meansfor effecting discharge of the workpieces in response to completerotation of the vessels includes, in each vessel, a pick-up platedisposed within the veSsel and extending between the side walls thereofinto abutting relationship with the circumferential wall of the vessel,a discharge plate being mounted in operative relationship with thepick-up plate to guide the workpieces towards the appropriate hollowspindle, a scavenger plate being located, relative to the direction ofrotation of the vessel, rearwardly to the pick-up plate.
 3. Treatmentapparatus according to claim 1 wherein each vessel is of octagonalcross-section.
 3. each side wall having secured thereto, in registerwith the aperture therein, a hollow spindle adapted, on the one hand, toreceive workpieces from a preceding station and to feed them into thevessel and, on the other hand, to receive workpieces from the vessel anddischarge the same therefrom;
 4. means for supporting liquid treatmentmedia for the workpieces in operative relation to said vessels;
 5. drivemeans arranged to effect limited oscillatory angular movements of saidvessels and to effect complete rotation of the vessels, c. the shapingof the circumferential wall of each drum serving to ensure agitation ofthe workpieces within the vessels upon oscillation thereof; and
 6. meanswithin each vessel whereby, on complete rotation thereof, the workpiecestherein are directed into a respective one of the spindles for dischargefrom the vessel.